Tag Archives: security

Water systems are distributed networks of pipes, pumps and reservoirs. Like all distributed networks they can be very difficult to protect from vandalism and terrorist attack. There are two broad types of attacks that could hit a water system. The first type is an attack on the quantity of water available (physical supply) and the second is an attack on the quality of water. The end result of both types of attack is a lack of potable water entering your home.

The greatest defense for a water system is that most of it is underground. It is very difficult to access most parts of water distribution systems. Even for the operators of the system it is time consuming and disruptive to the wider community. If anyone unauthorized to dig in a road to access a watermain they will be reported to the authorities in the form of complaints about traffic or noise.
I think it goes without saying that depending on public complaints to defend against terrorism is nowhere near secure.

Water Treatment Plant (source: wikipedia.org)

The exposed parts of water systems are water treatment facilities, reservoirs and fire hydrants. These are the points where the system is at the surface and easily accessible. These different points also offer different security concerns.

Treatment facilities are as secure as any factory or industrial facility will be. The treatment facility I work at is always locked and there are a limited number keys. Then there is an electronic alarm system which brings a human on site if there is an intrusion alarm. There is also a human dispatched if the communication link is broken. A large city water treatment facility will most likely be manned twenty-four hours a day. The biggest weakness here is that properly armed people can force their way in and destroy the building if they so desire. Or they can contaminate the reservoir on site (if they know how).

Reservoirs of treated water are next most likely place for a terrorist attack. The biggest weakness here is that reservoirs are almost never manned during the day. They will be visited most days, but rarely will people be there all day. The good news is that water in reservoirs is monitored constantly(usually) with automatic analyzers. Reservoirs can be destroyed, and the water within wasted. Or the quality of the water can be destroyed this is where chemicals could be added easily.

The remaining pieces of the system are fire hydrants. Fire hydrants pose a unique risk to water security. It is very easy to add chemicals to a fire hydrant. It is however not easy to get that chemical into the water supply. This is because of the construction of the hydrant itself and the pressure in the system. There is a valve at the bottom of the hydrant which isolates the water. In order to add chemicals to a fire hydrant you also have to lower the system pressure which is rarely easy to do undetected. At this point I want you to remember the scene in Batman Begins where Sandman is dumping his psychotropic drug into a cracked watermain. I don’t expect realistic depictions from the movie, I do however want you to know this is nowhere near realistic. Watermains are pressurized, when they crack water shoots out at anywhere from 50 to 100psi. This is enough to erode foundations of buildings and the all soil around the break creating massive sinkholes. It is not something you can pour chemicals into. This is what it looks like when watermains break.

Just adding chemicals to water, is not as effective as it appears on the surface. Most water supplies contain residual disinfectants, usually chlorine. Disinfectants are highly reactive chemicals, they aren’t limited to just killing bacteria. Highly reactive chemicals often react with other chemicals. I am obviously oversimplifying the chemistry involved, but it is true that a large portion of any chemical added to water will be consumed by the chlorine in the water.

Cyber attack is another way water systems are vulnerable. You may wonder why water treatment facilities are connected to the internet and the answer is for remote monitoring and control. It may seem like an unwarranted risk having these facilities connected to the web. It is not an unwarranted risk at all. The likelihood of the automated system needing an intervention that cannot wait for someone to be onsite is greater than a targeted cyber attack. Keep in mind that even normal breakdowns of the watersystem can cause illness and even death. These need to be responded to and are just as important as preventing cyber attack. I am not a technology expert so I will leave it to other people to suggest the best firewall setup. Another thing to note about cyber attack on a water treatment facility is that even if the attacker is successful and shuts down the control computer, the facility can still be controlled manually.

Terrorism is something that needs to be addressed when it comes to water systems. People inside and outside the system need to be aware of the risks and what can be done for protecting the security of out water.

Brazil is a fascinating country. I have travelled there on two separate occasions. On both occasions I was fortunate to stay with locals and see a lot of their way of life. Seeing and experiencing the local customs is one of the reasons I travel. I learned a lot about security, self reliance, what it can look like when society breaks down (temporarily) and how people respond when rules disappear or are not enforced. In many ways daily life in Brazil is the situation people in North America prepare for.

On my first trip there was a state of emergency in the state I was staying in. When we landed in Sao Paulo I noticed that the three prisons beside the airport had a lot people on the roof. In my ignorant first world opinion my first though was “wow third world prisons really are crappy”. This was not correct, not by a long shot. What I witnessed was the beginning of a prison riot that would shortly become a state wide state of emergency. The specifics are not important, the end result was gang leaders inside the prisons started paying people to kill police officers. The resulting violence was shocking. Police officers were murdered in their homes, at restaurants and on the street. Being “off duty” was no saving grace. The total body count was just under 300 people most of them were criminals killed during the police retaliation.
During the state of emergency the entire city shut down. This is a city of 30 million people (at best estimates) and all day to day activities stopped. It was like Christmas day, everyone stayed home.
On my second trip there was nothing so exciting but there is always a certain level of crime that tourists and residents alike need to be aware of. The following are my observations from both my trips.

The first lesson I learned was to blend in. It is hardly original but it is very beneficial to not stand out in the society, especially if you are significantly wealthier or poorer than everyone else. This isn’t as hard as it looks. Avoid logos on clothing; you may like designer brands but they will out you as an outsider. Avoid sports team branded clothing. I made the mistake of buying a shirt for the Brazilian National Soccer team, the first thing I was told was “take that off, nobody from here wears those.” I kept the shirt obviously but I didn’t wear it during the trip. If you are familiar with the culture then you can add little bits to help blend in. The general rule is if you don’t see other people wearing it/doing it then DON’T do it or wear it. Learn the local languages as best you can. The better you speak the language the easier it is to blend in and get out of trouble.

The second lesson is to avoid having a routine. Simply because of anyone is watching you they can set up a time and place to attack you of their choosing. On one of my trips there was a store owner who lived in the next town over. She left at a similar time after closing and went straight home. One day she was followed. They took what they wanted from her home. Then made her drive them to her store and let them in. They took what they wanted from the store. They finished the night by setting the woman on fire and leaving her for dead. The more uncertainty around you the less likely you are to be chosen for such an attack.

The third lesson is to avoid large crowds but don’t avoid people. The crowded market is dangerous if people feel threatened or afraid. People are unpredictable when frightened and it is very easy to get lost, hurt or killed in a mob and nobody see anything. Just as dangerous is being alone in the wrong area. If there is nobody else around then you are the only available target.

The fourth lesson is that geography matters. Every city has places that you shouldn’t go alone, or shouldn’t go at night or shouldn’t go unless you are from there. Learn where these places are and learn how to spot them. In the city I live in it is very easy for me to spot the dangerous areas. The problem is that different cities have different standards of what dangerous means and often the dangers themselves are different. Learning the local standards for dangerous area is critical. In many cities the dangerous areas are surprisingly close to very wealthy areas. Crossing the wrong block can sometimes be life threatening, like it is in Rio de Janerio there is a large slum two blocks from the hotels on copa cabana beach. Wander too far in the wrong directon and you will be in a whole heap of trouble.
Geography played a key role in our navigation during the state of emergency I described above. Because the target of the civil unrest were police officers we avoided going anywhere near police stations. The most likely places for violence in this scenario was a doughnut shaped ring around the police station where you weren’t too close to the station and there were too many officers. But not too far away from a station so the likelihood of seeing a police officer to attack is too low.
Always remember that geography is fluid when it comes to people, risk and danger. Riots are not in one place, they move around. As do criminals, armies, battles and victims. Always be on the lookout for signs your location is becoming more dangerous.
Geography is also important at other levels. During the state of emergency next state over was totally normal. We chose this time to visit another state and avoid the problem altogether.

Here is a list of things I noticed when the government or the market stops working for the public good.

If you don’t have a home, build one. This is how slums form. If enough people build a shack/shelter somewhere it becomes very difficult to remove them. If a slum exists long enough, they become proper neighborhoods with time.
If everyone has a gun then there is no such thing as gun control. On my second trip there was a story on the news about a statement a politician made. He said and I’m paraphrasing, “Anyone with a gun should turn it in to police and you will not be asked any questions”. Remember, there are already laws in place restricting firearms of all types but everyone still has one for personal security. The resounding response to the politician’s statement was “You First!”. The Brazilian people think as much about owning an illegal firearm as most North Americans think about speeding.

Please don’t think that Brazil is an overly dangerous place. I went twice for a month each time and nothing dangerous ever happened. But I was aware of my surroundings and I had expert guides in the form of local residents. Without them I am sure I would not have been as safe or seen as much as I did. I am writing about the danger I experienced in Brazil because it exposed what happens when a whole society is left to it’s own devices and the chaos/order that develops. In other words it provided a glimpse into the end of the world as I know it.

Survival bunkers are coveted by many as the ultimate survival preparation possible, providing it is full of food and water. The common elements for any shelter are food, drinking water, air circulation and waste removal. Honourable mention goes to electrical power and heating and cooling. The extent and the capacity of these essentials depends on the purpose of the shelter or bunker and how long it will be occupied. The characteristic that almost can go without saying, storage, lots of storage.

Many of the features described in this article are possible to build into almost any structure, some will only be possible or necessary in a fortified bunker. One note on fortified structures, many municipalities have made fortified homes illegal. This was done where I live to combat organised crime, and make it possible to evict criminal organisations, easier to raid these structures and to discourage to setting up of a headquarters in the first place. Be aware of what is legal before you start to fortify any structure.

The first decision to make is if your shelter will be underground or above ground. Both options have advantages and disadvantages. Underground bunkers are easily hidden and offer excellent concealment. The ground around the walls also offers protection from most explosions and most forms of natural disasters. Underground is a great place to hide. Underground is not a great place to defend. Civil unrest can easily exploit a weakness in all underground structures, if all the exits are found by an aggressive party then all inhabitants of the bunker are trapped. All anyone has to do is wait with weapons pointed at the doors, because the doors will eventually open when supplies run out. They won’t even have to wait that long. Blocking air vents, adding toxic gasses and flooding the bunker with water will flush people out faster. The primary security of underground bunkers is secrecy. Keep the location and if possible the existence of any bunker secret. This may even be more important than the strength of the walls.
Whether you choose to build above ground or underground there are features that are vital for both.
Multiple exits, are needed. There is little use in getting trapped in your survival shelter just to die later. Always have another way out. Speaking of exits, installing a barrier that forms a ninety degree bend outside the door will inhibit people from knocking the door down. A cinder block or concrete construction with just enough room to open the door will prevent anyone from swinging a battering ram against the door.

Bunkers that expect to be occupied for extended periods of time should have a UV growth lighting system. Something to at least start some seedlings. Volcanic eruption can create shorter growing seasons. Giving your food plants a head start could make all the difference between harvest and starvation. It would be awesome to have an underground farm that can grow enough food for your entire family, but I would bet money that it is too impractical to be a viable option.

Air circulation is also critical. Simple air circulation can occur with two holes and a fan. Easy to install but the can and will leave you open to any airborne contaminants or contagions. Screens and U-bends will keep out rodents and water. HEPA filters remove many small particles and some airborne bacteria and viruses. You can also use UV light to disinfect the air before it is circulated. And it is best done right after the HEPA filter.
Everything else requires a positive pressure system to keep any contaminants outside. Positive pressure is achieved when air is blown into a room faster than it can be released. This means air will constantly push out of any leaking point and physically push away from the bunker. Even when doors are opened the air will push our preventing contaminants from entering.
This is the opposite of an isolation room, like the ones in a hospital. Isolation rooms remove air from a room faster than air can enter the room. This means air is pulled inside constantly and out to an air disinfection system. This keeps the airborne contagion contained in the one room even when doors are opened.
Both positive and negative pressure systems have higher electricity costs and that could limit their applications.

Water needs mentioning. A source of drinking water is essential as well. Length of stay is the master here. If you only have a storm shelter then you can probably get away with storage of water. If you plan on outlasting extended civil unrest, then a well with access inside the bunker is preferred. A method of disinfection of drinking water is also preferential.

Next is waste, all the garbage and sewage needs to be dealt with. A septic tank can receive the sewage easily enough if the terrain allows for it. Garbage can be incinerated from within the bunker. For more on solid waste and liquid waste management see my other articles.

Fortification is a useful way to help survive many situations. Whether you expect a tornado or World War Three, having a place to retreat to that can take a beating could save your life. Anything that could save your life one day is always worth a closer look.